Minutes of a Membership Council Meeting of University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust Membership Council Members Present John Savage Chair Liz Corrigan Governor Representative & Public Governor (North Somerset) Anne Ford Public Governor (North Somerset) Heather England Public Governor (Bristol) Jade Scott-Blagrove Public Governor (Bristol) Mo Schiller Public Governor (Bristol) Mary Hodges Public Governor (Bristol) Anne Skinner Patient Governor (Bristol) Jacob Butterly Patient Governor (Bristol) David Aldington Patient Governor (Bristol) John Steeds Patient Governor (Bristol) Pam Yabsley Patient Governor (Bristol) Neil Auty Patient Governor (Tertiary) Wendy Gregory Patient Governor (Carers of Patients 16 years and over) Garry Williams Patient Governor (Carers of Patients 16 years and over) Florene Jordan Staff Governor (Nursing and Midwifery) Chris Swonnell Staff Governor (Non-Clinical Healthcare Professionals) Jan Dykes Staff Governor (Non-Clinical Healthcare Professionals) Chris Payne Appointed Governor (NHS South Gloucestershire) James White Appointed Governor (NHS North Somerset) Helen Langton Appointed Governor (University of the West of England) Sylvia Townsend Appointed Governor (Bristol City Council) Jeanette Jones Partnership Governor (Joint Union Committee) Frank Palma Partnership Governor (Voluntary Group) Joan Bayliss Partnership Governor (Community Group) In Attendance Robert Woolley Chief Executive Alison Moon Chief Nurse Deborah Lee Director of Corporate Development Jane Luker Acting Medical Director Deborah Tunnell Resourcing Manager Sue Cotterell Schools Liaison Co-ordinator Sarah Pinch Head of Communications Paul Tanner Head of Finance Charlie Helps Trust Secretary Maria Fox Membership Manager Vicki Goodwin Notes 1. Welcome and Apologies The Chairman welcomed Joan Bayliss as the new Partnership Governor representing Community Groups. The Membership Council noted apologies for absence from the following governors: Mohsin Sajid, Sian Evans, Pauline Beddoes, Ken Cockrell, Suzanne Green, Lorna Watson, Philip Mackie, Belinda Cox, Jim Catterall, David Tappin, Massimo Pignatelli, Sharon Hinsley, and Jane Britton. It was confirmed that those present made up a quorum of the Membership Council.
2. Declaration of Interests In accordance with the Trust s Constitution, all members present are required to declare any conflicts of interest with items on the Membership Council Meeting Agenda. No declarations of interest were made. 3. Minutes of Meetings The Membership Council considered the minutes of the previous two meetings and resolved to approve them as an accurate record of matters transacted. 4. Matters Arising The Membership Council considered the Schedule of Matters Arising. The status of each item for action arising from previous meetings was confirmed. Chris Swonnell noted an inaccuracy in 1 referring to the Governors request to arrange a meeting with themselves and the patient representative from the Histopathology Inquiry. This action had been incorrectly recorded as completed. Robert Woolley agreed to explore the option of a meeting. The Council resolved to update the Membership Council Meeting Schedule of Matters Arising accordingly. 5. Chairman s Report The Membership Council received and considered a verbal report by the Chairman to note. John Savage briefed the Governors on the status of the current Governor elections. 13 seats are up for election this year. There will be three election information events in March and nomination packs will be sent out towards the end of March. Voting will commence in April and the results will be announced in early June. He reported that Paul Burstow MP, Health Minister, had visited the Trust as part of the Government s campaign around spotting the early signs and symptoms of bowel cancer. He stated that the visit had been very successful and following his visit the Health Minister released the following statement to the media: It has been good to meet clinicians and patients at University Hospitals Bristol and see the fantastic work already being done here to diagnose and treat bowel cancer. There being no further questions, the Membership Council resolved to note the Chairman s report. 6. Governors Report The Membership Council received and considered the Governors report presented by Liz Corrigan, on behalf of the Governors. Liz highlighted the following items of interest: a) Liz Corrigan thanked the Appointed & Partnership Governors who had attended today and expressed how invaluable their expertise is to the Council. James White added that unfortunately he is not always able to attend Membership Council meetings due to a clash with NHS North Somerset s Board Meeting. b) A representation of Governors would meet a member regarding the outcomes of the Histopathology Inquiry. Notes of the meeting will be distributed to all governors. R Woolley 2
There being no further questions, the Membership Council resolved to note the Governor s report. 7. Chief Executive s Report The Membership Council received and considered a verbal report by the Chief Executive. He reported on four items of interest as follows: a) Executive Director Recruitment Robert Woolley announced the appointment of three Executive Directors to the Trust Board, as follows: Deborah Lee has been appointed as Director of Strategic Development. Deborah has been seconded to the Trust since May 2010 from NHS Bristol, where she was Director of Commissioning. She will take up the post with immediate effect. James Rimmer has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, coming to University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust from the Royal United Hospital Bath, where he is currently Director of Operations. He is expected to take up his role at the end of June 2011. Dr Sean O'Kelly has been appointed as Medical Director to start mid-april 2011. Dr O'Kelly comes to us from Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. Appropriate interim arrangements will remain in place until the final two appointees join the Trust. b) Performance Robert Woolley briefed the Governors on the performance of the Trust over the Christmas and New Year period. Robert stated that over Christmas and New Year there had been an exceptionally high level of demand from patients visiting the Trust hospitals. The Trust recorded an 11% increase in emergency admissions compared to the Christmas of 2009. Robert added that in light of the demand for services over the Christmas period the Trust performed a lessons-learned activity. Areas of interest were: The need for extra planning to cover the two four-day Bank Holiday periods in April. Support from the healthcare community. Robert praised all staff in the Trust for their hard work over this difficult period. c) Great Western Ambulance Service - Strike Withdrawn The Avon branch of Unison had given notice to Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) NHS Trust of their intention to strike, but have since withdrawn this notice. Robert reassured the Membership Council that the Trust had established emergency plans to deal with the potential influx of additional emergency cases to the Emergency Department. These provisions would be invoked again should a second notice be given. d) Strategic Plans The Trust has submitted a loan application for 70 million to help fund the extension to the Queens building. This extension would allow for the proposed Centralisation of Specialist Paediatrics and the transfer of wards from the Old Building to the Queens building. e) Histopathology Inquiry 3
The outcomes of the Inquiry were announced in December. The Trust has agreed an action plan in conjunction with North Bristol NHS Trust to meet the recommendations made by the Inquiry panel. This has been agreed by the Trust Board and will be submitted to its regulators. The Trust has also informed the Royal College of Medicine and the Bristol City Council Scrutiny Committee, who can question the progress at any time. The Trust has also set a date to appoint a joint Clinical Director of Histopathology. This role will be fundamental to ensure unity across both Trusts. Question from the Governors to Robert Woolley included: 1. Mo Schiller questioned Robert on the cultural and managerial lessons the Trust had learnt from the Histopathology inquiry. Robert recognised the inquiry findings on culture and the Trust is committed to providing a single service with North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT). The appointment of a Joint Clinical Director of Histopathology will ensure the cohesiveness of both Trusts. Many managerial lessons have been learnt. It is now a formal requirement for Executive Directors to report concerns which will be centrally logged and formally managed. 2. Frank Palma asked Robert about the progress of the patient partnership with NBT. Robert stated that it was too early to note the progress of the patient partnership with NBT but commented that it is designed to explore greater opportunities for partnership working. A formal Board will be established with Terms of Reference. It was agreed that a regular report would be presented to the Membership Council. 3. Chris Payne was concerned that the perception of healthcare in Bristol. Chris asked Robert how, as Governors, they can really know that improvements have been made. A baseline survey of staff on Trust values is currently being undertaken across the Trust. This is to assess the effectiveness of the values and also to request suggestions for ways of incorporating them into the workplace. The Trust values will be used as the basis of all recruitment, training and to manage performance. The Histopathology Partnership Agreement and the new appointment of a Joint Clinical Director of Histopathology are important steps for the future. Robert is pleased that the Partnership Agreement has received a positive response and it sends a strong signal to clinical staff. John Savage added that it is essential that the Governors are convinced that progress has been made on this issue. He implored that Governors should first satisfy themselves and then spread the message in the community. 4. John Steeds asked for further clarification on the Medical Division is recording a deficit month-on-month since September/October 2010. Robert explained that the plan for the year was based on the closure of beds, which would have resulted in savings but that these closures did not happen. At present there are currently 46 unfunded beds. The deficit could be due to control issues over nursing spends and drugs. Peaks have been identified on spending and a plan is currently being escalated to agree recovery plans. 5. Garry Williams asked whether the Trust is working on strengthening its relationships with General Practitioners and Primary Care Trusts in light of the Government s move to GP consortia. They should realise common interests. Robert replied that so far he has had a good response from the Programme Board but more needs to be done in the future to the general imbalance in emergency care in Bristol, 4
North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The Trust is accepting increasing numbers of emergency patients from areas that would previously have used other services. James White, Appointed Governor NHS North Somerset, commented that everyone has a wider responsibility. The Trust needs to ensure only the urgent cases are seen by emergency staff. This message needs to be spread that the NHS has limitations due to decreased resources. 6. Mo Schiller asked Robert his opinion on the Watchdog Report and if an estimated 5 billion could be saved across the NHS if they combined procurement. Robert responded by saying that this report was very timely. The Trust has recently reviewed procurement and will be working with North Bristol NHS Trust on combining this, which will no doubt reap benefits. There being no further questions, the Membership Council resolved to note the Chief Executive s report. 8. Quarter 3 Self-certification to Monitor The Membership Council received this report by the Chief Executive to note. Robert Woolley highlighted that the Trust has a Finance Risk Rating Assessment of 4, which is rated very good by Monitor. The score for Governance has been assessed as 0, which is a green rating under the amended 2010/11 Compliance Framework. Robert Woolley presented his recommendation to the Trust Board that Declaration One of the Monitor self-certification based on the evidenced performance of the Trust for Governance and Finance (as evidenced in the Summary Quality and Performance Report and in the Finance Report presented to the 21 January 2011 meeting of the Trust Board of Directors). There being no further questions, the Membership Council noted the Trust Board of Directors Quarter 3 Self-Certification to Monitor. 9. Quarterly Review of Progress against the Annual Plan Deborah Lee, Director of Strategic Development, presented a report to the Membership Council on the progress against the Trust s Annual Plan Objectives 2010/2011. All objectives have been reviewed and generally good progress is reported against the objectives set at the beginning of the year. 70% of these objectives are currently rated as green. Two of these objectives are showing as red issues; these are both within the Becoming the Local Employer of Choice category. The two objectives are: The Trust s website. However, improvements to the website will be launched by June. Ensuring all Trust policies and functions have an Equality Impact Assessment. A compliance reporting process has now been agreed with the Trust Secretary. This target will shortly be turning green. Wendy Gregory asked when the Trust thought the ten objectives showing as amber relating to improving care for patients and overall patient experience would turn to green. Robert Woolley advised that this is the plan for 2010/2011. There being no further questions or discussion, the Membership Council resolved to note the progress to date against the plan. 10. Self-Assessment of Membership Council Effectiveness The Chairman briefed the Membership Council on the progress of the self-assessment 5
exercise. All governors have been sent a copy of the proforma to complete. Replies will be collated into a single document and the findings will be discussed at the next governors pre-agenda meeting on 21 March 2011, 2.00 4.00pm in Lecture Theatre 3. A combined response will be presented to the Membership Council on 4 May. The Membership Council noted the progress of the Membership Council self- assessment. 11. Report for the Governors Nomination and Appointments Committee The Membership Council received this report to note. This was presented by Phil Quirk on behalf of the Committee members. Phil highlighted the following activity: Revision of the Committees Terms of Reference, to be presented for ratification at the next Membership Council meeting; Planning for the 2011 Trust Board Appraisal exercise; Planning for 2011 Non-executive Director reappointments. There being no further questions, the Membership Council resolved to note the Report for Governor Nomination and Appointments Committee. 12. Reappointment of Lisa Gardner as Non-executive Director The Chairman presented a paper for approval on behalf of the Nominations and Appointments Committee. This makes recommendations for the reappointment of Lisa Gardner as Non-executive Director and Chair of the Finance Committee for a further term of three years commencing 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2014. Lisa met with the Nominations and Appointments Committee on 9 December and they reached the unanimous decision to recommend Lisa for re-appointment for a further term of three years. John Savage personally added how valuable Lisa has been to the Trust, and how tuned in she is to the work of the Trust. The Membership Council approved the re-appointment of Lisa Gardner as Non-executive Director and Chair of the Finance Committee for a further three year term of office commencing 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2014. 13. Reports from the Governor Working Groups The Membership Council received the following reports to note on the activity of the governor working groups. These were presented by the respective group Chairs. 13.1 Membership Working Group Liz Corrigan presented the Membership Working Group Report in the absence of the Membership Working Group Chair, Suzanne Green. She highlighted the following activity to the governors: Revision of the groups terms of reference. 6
Identify the aims and objectives of the group. Exploring routes to meet with the membership. The arrangement of three Medicine for Members events, focusing on diabetes, healthy eyes and infection control. Involvement of governors in the Trust s programme of events, including open days and health awareness events. Liz is particularly keen for governors to volunteer for National Heart Month from 21-25 February, in the Bristol Heart Institute (BHI) Atrium and at the Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre (BHOC) Open Day on Saturday 5 March, 11:00-15:00. There were no further comments from the Governors. The Membership Council resolved to note the report. 13.2 Quality Working Group Pam Yabsley, Quality Working Group Chair, presented the report. Pam highlighted the following areas to the Governors: a) Cancelled Appointments - Tony Ranzetta, Acting Chief Operating Officer, attended the December meeting and said the Trust proposed to undertake a two-phase review of outpatient services due to start in January. The Governors requested an update on this. b) Patients experiencing problems with patient transport Pam suggested that it would be helpful if Governors knew more about how the public transport system worked. The group are in the process of a arranging a meeting with Great Western Ambulance Trust to discuss. Chris Payne, Appointed Governor representing NHS South Gloucestershire, said that the patient transport system was put out for tender last year. The services were divided into acute and patient transport. Chris suggested that in order to get the full picture the Governors should be talking to the Commissioners in conjunction with the Great Western Ambulance Trust. Chris also explained that the eligibility criteria for patient transport had been reissued in September/October 2010. The Governors requested a copy of the revised guidelines. Deborah Lee to distribute the Patient Transport Eligibility Criteria to the Governors. c) Pharmacy Patients are experiencing long waiting times. Steve Brown, Director of Pharmacy, has been invited to attend the February meeting. d) Food In a recent postal survey a third of patients said that they did not get enough help from staff to eat their meals. Chris Swonnell said that this has been noted as part of the Patient Experience Action Plan, and that the Trust now has a protected meal time policy in place. e) Chair and Chief Executive Quality Walk Rounds The Governors stated they valued the opportunity to be included in the walk rounds, and urged Governors to volunteer for the walk rounds. Robert Woolley briefed the Governors on the new style of walk round being trialled. It includes a presentation from the Divisional Board to give an overview of the area, followed by a visit to the area giving the opportunity for interaction between staff and patients. There were no further comments from the Governors. The Membership Council resolved to note the report. 13.3 Strategy Working Group D Lee 7
Anne Ford, Strategy Working Group Chair, presented the Report. She highlighted the following activity to the Governors: Mary Perkins had attended the last meeting and gave an overview of the Research and Innovation Strategy. The group are reviewing their Terms of Reference and have discussed the streamlining of agenda items. The group will be looking at the Trust s Carbon Management Strategy in a future meeting. There were no further comments from the Governors. The Membership Council resolved to note the report. 14. Youth Council Update Report The Membership Council received and considered a verbal report by Jade Scott-Blagrove on behalf of the Youth Council. Jade reported on two items of interest as follows: Website At their meeting on 29 January the Youth Council discussed improvements to the Trust s website. Suggestions included incorporating an interactive map, library and sections for younger children. Their comments would be passed back to the Web Development Team and a test website should be available for review at the next Youth Council Meeting. Planning Future Activities The group discussed fundraising and in particular, raising money to improve the hospital service and environment (24 February). They also discussed Mystery Shopping which tests the hospital facilities (18 April) and tours around the hospital and talks from staff. There being no further questions, the Membership Council resolved to note the Youth Council s Update Report. 15. Work Experience Policy The Membership Council received and considered an update report on the Work Experience Policy by Jade Scott-Blagrove. Jade reported that two members of the Youth Council had reported concerns that there had been a reduction in work experiences place at the Trust. At the last Membership Council meeting Jade and Jacob Butterly highlighted this concern and requested Governor and Youth Council involvement in the review of the policy. The review had taken place from September to December 2010. Jade received two letters from Steve Aumayer, Director of Workforce and Organisational Development, outlining the findings of the Trust s Review. Jade had questions arising from the review. Deborah Tunnell, Resourcing Manager and Sue Cotterall, Work Liaison Co-ordinator addressed the concerns in the absence of Steve Aumayer. Deborah advised that the Trust offered other opportunities such as school liaison ambassadors, mock interviews and school events. Specific fit for purpose placements will be carried out and offers made for 252 placements, in addition to school activity. The Trust has limited resources, which dictates the number of available places on offer to schools. At present the Trust receives about 700 or 800 requests for work experience placements a year and currently offers two places per school. 8
Sue Cotterall added that the Trust follows a very strict vetting process, including relevant checks, and it is fairly time consuming procedure. The Trust conducted 34 school visits and tours last year. John Savage stated that he was very impressed by the work of such a small team, especially at a time when we need new doctors. Robert Woolley added that Steve Aumayer is revising the teaching and learning strategy at the moment. He will ensure work experience is included in this strategy and adequate resources are allocated. Questions from the governors: Helen Langton, Appointed Governor representing the University of the West of England (UWE) asked if the team had explored working with other universities in town? Jade was encouraged to feed-back to young people that universities look for experience within community care, in addition to experience within acute care. Garry Williams asked how the two places per school were allocated and Sue explained that places are allocated by the school, to ensure fairness and to save the time of Trust staff interviewing pupils to ensure a good match. Jade added that she is worried that the revised policy has not been communicated to young people via their schools. She asked Debbie to attend the Youth Council Meeting and explain the Revised Policy to the young members. Debbie Tunnell to attend Youth Council. The Membership Council approved an Update Report on the Work Experience Policy by Jade Scott-Blagrove. D Tunnell 16. Any Other Business There was no other business. 17. Questions from Members There were no questions from the members. 18. Date of Next Meetings The dates of the next meetings were confirmed as: 4 May 2011 and 27 May 2011, Lecture Theatre 1, Education Centre, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Trust, Upper Maudlin Street, Bristol. 9